The Slave Route Challenge by Bradley Trout

The Slave Route Challenge

Not every race is a history lesson, but that is part of what makes the Slave Route Challenge (SRC) so special: it draws attention to our history and heritage.

Cape Town is a marvellous City, but like many of the world’s beautifully constructed cities, it was built on the back of slavery. Apprentices from Indonesia and Malaysia, and many other Capetonians have their roots in these harsh realities. This race honours these communities and the sacrifices they were forced to make.

It does this through its unique route, which traces the footsteps of these early Capetonians. It starts at the City Hall, and works its way through District Six, Bo-Kaap, the Castle of Good Hope, and other iconic landmarks before finishing on the Grand Parade.

Beginning in 2011, this was the 13th edition of the SRC, which has grown in popularity each year, and is fast becoming one of the biggest races of the Cape Town calendar.

I was one of about 50 participants from FHAC. Many of us travelled there on the “Luxurious Slave Route Bus”, which reduces traffic and parking problems, and allows us to get there in the most relaxed way possible. But that is where the ‘luxury’ ends.

From a running perspective the course is a proper “challenge.” With almost 280m elevation it’s certainly not the course for your 21km PB. The first 10km are very tough. The first 2km is a gradual climb, at 5km there is another, and then the climb in the 9th km – including the infamous Koeksister Hill (over 21% gradient!) – alone justifies “challenge” in the name.

It is a course that means to make you suffer! After putting those nails into your legs, you have 11 km to go, out and around the Greenpoint Stadium and back to the City Centre. Here is it simply about survival after the earlier efforts your legs endured.

The last km passes right through the Castle, which is a unique touch. By that time, I could barely think about anything other than reaching the end for the pain to stop. The tunes of race sponsor Smile 90.4 helped distract from the pain of the last few hundred meters, and then it was done.

This was my first experience of the SRC and despite the sufferfest I will certainly be back. We all have our reasons for running – pushing ourselves, losing weight, club standards, a PB, etc – but it’s important sometimes to step outside of our own goals and remember that we are part of something bigger. The SRC draws attention not only to our individual accomplishments as runners, but to our history and heritage. We get to run in this beautiful city because of the lives and labour of communities who were here before us, and they quite literally paved the way. What a way to retrace some of their steps.

“Bradley didn’t mention this, but he finished in an impressive 1:29min for the half marathon as first FHAC runner in, 38th overall and 6th Vet”